Date: 10/10/2020

Number: 20

This is a heavy migration by my standard.
Perfect weather and they are coming all day long since 9AM.
Beautiful.

My count is an estimate.

I have a certain amount of butterfly bushes, planted specifically for the monarchs. Usually, they arrive, one at the time, and rest on the bushes for a while and then continue their migration after 10-15mn. So, I assume that if I see them leaving, they don’t try to fool me by turning around and coming back. If I see, like on Saturday, a constant stream of 4-5 butterflies on the bushes, for a period from 8AM to 4PM or 8H, my count of 20 is probably on a low side. I am out in the yard starting around 8AM and try to check the bushes regularly.

In Fort Lee, I believe we are right on the path of the New England migration; they cross the Hudson over Manhattan, Fort Lee, and Secaucus. I always see them coming from the North-East going South-West. They dive on the butterfly bushes (the only bushes flowering right now), go from bush to bush for nectar, and after 10-15 mn fly over the oak trees and disappear to the South-South-West. I never saw them at a roost in my neighborhood.

Fort Lee, NJ

Latitude: 40.9 Longitude: -74

Observed by: Roland
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